


shared space

by xoalenko (spacebarista)



Series: impossible to stand [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Almost Cuddling, Fluff, M/M, Sleeping in the Mako
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-18
Updated: 2016-11-18
Packaged: 2018-08-31 16:19:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8585365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacebarista/pseuds/xoalenko
Summary: Ronan Shepard can sleep anywhere. Where he wakes up is a surprise. Originally posted on tumblr as "literal bears".





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [notnowcommander](https://archiveofourown.org/users/notnowcommander/gifts).



> YOOOOOO back to Mass Effect!!! This is my FIRST fic about Ronan Shepard, my first mshep! I haven’t decided who his main romance will be, but I plan on playing with a little bit of everything (because I can in fiction duh). however, I do love the idea of him with Kaidan, so I wrote this little prompt for my pal notnowcommander since she was having a rough couple of days. [this man right here](http://bisexualholden.tumblr.com/post/152316429495/what-the-fuck-he-caught-it-hes-dead-sucks-for) is Ronan’s RL face. hope y’all like it! 
> 
> please review if you can, thanks for peeking in!

Sleeping in a Mako is an incredible undertaking for any Alliance Marine. They’re tight, with hard metal floors and only the bare minimum insulation from heat and cold. Comfort just wasn’t something that the engineers felt the need to take into account. Ground missions aren’t planned to last long enough to include a full sleep cycle out of shelter. So, the all-terrain vehicles are not made for snoozing in.

 

And yet Ronan Shepard has it down to an art.

 

It’s not saying much. Hannah Shepard has been joking about his ability to sleep easily anywhere for as long as he can remember. He’s fallen asleep in laundry baskets, under desks, at mess tables, across co-pilot chairs, propped up against boulders, and over piles of boxes and crates. The Mako is nothing compared to some of his more inventive sleeping spots during long missions. So, he hadn’t been worried when Joker radio’d that he wouldn't be able to pick them up until the dust storm passed. He could handle it. And when Kaidan suggested they get some rest, he’d been all for it.

 

He’d set Ashley up across the back seat with the better blanket. The latter she won in a short Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament. Not that either of the men minded. After shedding the top halves of their armor—Ronan trying hard not to glance over at the Lieutenant as he’d undressed—Kaidan and Ronan made the floor as comfortable as possible before rolling to face away from each other. It didn’t take long for him to doze off to the sound of his crewmates breathing and the Mako keeping them alive.

 

Though, Kaidan Alenko’s presence behind him had made it almost difficult.

 

Ronan had never been bothered by sex when it came to his attraction for someone. He’d had the word “bisexual” on his lips for a good part of his life. His mother had been more than accepting of him, and he’d had partners of different sexes since he’d been old enough to date. The only thing that could possibly stop him from a relationship would be the regs. And that’s where his crush on Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko got tricky.

 

He’d been into Kaidan almost from the moment they met. He’d been taken by his easy smile, his strong jaw and broad shoulders. As they continued to work together both on the ground and on the _Normandy_ , attraction evolved into feelings, and the Commander found himself looking for any reason to wander down to the crew deck to interrupt Kaidan’s work on the faulty panel. Ashley had taken notice, and gave him a hard time when she could. Good thing he could come right back at her thanks to her sister’s little slip.

 

Ronan had been tired enough to let sleep overcome his rampant thoughts. It hadn’t been _completely_ unpleasant to fall asleep with Kaidan on his mind, though.

 

Just as it’s not _completely_ unpleasant to wake up nearly curled up against the older biotic.

 

Ronan freezes once his eyes open and focus. And sees Kaidan staring back at him. Their noses are less than six inches apart. Their hands are even closer. Ronan doesn’t even have to look; he can feel the heat off Kaidan’s skin. Neither man moves. They just lay in silence, blinking at each other. Ronan’s mouth opens and closes on its own. But he’s not sure what to say. And still, neither moves. Kaidan’s fingers brush Ronan’s, and he feels a small static charge pass between them. Maybe something more.

 

Ronan takes a breath.

 

“ _Finally_ , some _quiet_ in here!”

 

Ronan rolls away, and Kaidan sits up at the sound of Ash’s grumbling. Ronan can feel the heat rising in his cheeks, and he wills the blush to disperse before he has to get up.

 

“What are you moaning about now, Ash?” Kaidan laughs, a rumble in his chest. Ronan almost thinks he can feel it through the floor.

 

“Really? You didn’t hear it?” She scoffs, and Ronan sputters and jolts up when a pillow hits his head. “ _This one_ snores. Like a beast.”

 

“Hey!” Ronan throws the pillow back, blush in full bloom across his cheeks again. No. Not now. Of _course_ it had to happen when he’s not in his own quarters, when he’s less than a foot away from the man he’d been unable to stop thinking about for weeks. He doesn’t dare look at Kaidan. His brain scrambles for a clever comeback to hide his embarrassment. “ _Someone_ has to make sure you don’t sleep on the job.”

 

Ashley crosses her arms, sardonic grin on her face. “Oh, well you _definitely_ succeeded, Commander.”

 

“I think it’s endearing.”

 

Both Ronan and Ashley look to Kaidan, who’s watching Ronan with a grin of his own. Ronan can barely suppress a shiver under Kaidan’s piercing gaze. “It’s a cute quirk. Barely bothered me at all.”

 

Ronan’s chest blooms with warmth. Really? _Endearing_? That’s never been a word he’s heard used to describe snoring. It had always been a pipe dream of his that a partner might not tease him mercilessly for it. It’s happened, multiple times, and while he can get past it, sometimes the sting of old wounds still remains. But Kaidan… _accepts_ it. Not his partner, sure. But his _crush_. That fact almost erases the shock and embarrassment that Kaidan had been privy to it at all. He wishes he could tell Kaidan that.

 

“Yeah, because you’re _Canadian,_ ” Ashley cuts in again, throwing her pillow at Kaidan this time. “You listen to bears at night. Literal _bears_.”

 

They continue to bicker, his two human squadmates and friends. But it barely registers. Ronan’s still wrapping his head around Kaidan’s comments. For a moment he’s disappointed that he can’t act on his feelings, what with their current location and Ashley’s presence. But the hope Kaidan’s given him eclipses it. What are regs compared to this feeling? Maybe he can get past them. Maybe Kaidan can too. And maybe, just maybe, they can be something _more_.

 

Ronan looks to the man, ready to say something like a subtle thanks, or hint about talking later. But then the pillow hits him again, this time from Kaidan’s direction. And the thought is gone. Kaidan’s smirk when their eyes meet instead drives him to vengeance.

 

“Oh. It’s _on_ , Alenko.”

 

The trio barely hear Joker radio for their current location over peals of laughter as Ronan practically dives on Kaidan with the pillow. Plenty of time for feelings later, when his honor isn’t at stake.


End file.
